My poor parents...

I've been thinking today of my parents in terms of TMS. Every now and then my mother would throw out her "sacroliliac". She would be in bed for a few days, then up but in pain for a few weeks. I remember it always seemed to happen when she was really, really needed; us kids or my grandmother needed her, and then this would happen. Hmm, sound familiar? My father also suffered from terrible stomach problems. He would take to his bed often, and I would stay away because the smell was pretty bad. He was a lawyer, and these times came a lot when he was under strain. He was not a great lawyer, not organized and in over his head often.

Anyway, just thinking of them and as I learn more and more about TMS, I know this is a factor in so many people's lives.

Tara

 

Hi Tara,
It seems helpful to understand your parents' TMS. So much suffering... This understanding helps build your own understanding and "belief" in Dr. Sarno's work. The more you see TMS around you, the more clearly you will accept it in yourself, which is key to recovery.
Andy B

 

Hi, Tara,
I had severe back pain a few years ago and it went away after learning about Dr. Sarno and TMS. In doing the Structured Educational Program, I journaled about my boyhood and that's where I discovered strong repressed emotions from my parents divorcing when I was seven. Journaling about them, I remembered that Mom had frequent migraine headaches and Dad had what was then called lombago and now is called lower back pain. I realized their pains were from TMS, mainly because of financial problems during the 1930s Great Depression. Realizing all that helped me to understand them better and thatled to forgiving them, years after both had died. It relieved me of a great deal of repressed anger. I think if we journal about our parents and put ourselves in their shoes, we learn a lot about them and ourselves. Good luck journaling to find your repressed emotions. That's where most of us have healed our TMS pain.

 

I think the more I learn about TMS and MBS, the more I realize how prevalent it may be. That's why we need to work toward greater awareness, and why this wiki is such a magnificent thing--thank you @Forest--because there are so many people who are hurting, and don't realize they have the power to heal.